


Swapped Knights

by LunaBruceYT



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Gen, Memory Loss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24042790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaBruceYT/pseuds/LunaBruceYT
Relationships: Lurien the Watcher & Lurien the Watcher's Butler, Monomon the Teacher & Quirrel (Hollow Knight), The Knight & The Hollow Knight, The Pale King/White Lady (Hollow Knight)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18





	Swapped Knights

"Within this kingdom’s borders, they call out your name with reverence and desperation.  
Alas, you sit upon your throne inside a palace similar to your retreat in green.  
Is is because of fear you hide?  
Maybe regret?  
We may never know but we can only wait.  
You with little help replaced how this place had been.  
World and mind you gave to bug as they had never dreamed.”

\- Elegy for Hollownest, written by Monomon the Teacher

...

The small bug listened to their footsteps, a barely audible tapping sound almost completely drowned out by the loud wind, as they ran forward, feeling the cold air on their two horns, feet upon gravel, before stopping. They could see the other side that ended the gap between the ledge they were near and up ahead which was much too far to jump over.

They looked down before taking a step more closer to the edge, careful not to fall, before a small piece at the very end broke off and fell down onto the ground they could not see from that height. For some reason, they felt the desire to fall into the nothingness that was the gap and follow the small tiny pebble. With a little hesitation, they jumped down below, bracing themself to land on their feet. 

The fall was long, causing the bug to feel nervous but eventually the fall stopped and their feet hit the ground with a thud. The sheer force of their fall causing them to almost lose their balance. Their hands pushed onto the ground from under their darkly colored cloak to steady themself before pushing themself back up and standing on their small black feet visible from below the cloak and only then did they begin to take note of their surroundings. Behind them was a stone wall that stretched a long ways up and the other side was quite a bit in front of them but the same length up than the other wall. Under their feet were some light dirt which most likely had some stone underneath. 

They glanced around from where they were standing for an opening somewhere in the massive stone cavern they were in before spotting a hole to the opposite wall as them on the wall's far corner. They walked towards it from where they had been standing. It was rather small but enough for them to squeeze through.

They knelt down and got their body through the hole, lowering their head downwards to be able to put their horns through it. On the other side of the hole was another room. They pushed themself back up and looked at the way they came. The hole looked like it had been a corridor at some point in time before rubble filled most of it up. They were surprised there weren't any dead bugs that got trapped in that room because they couldn't fit into the hole..or the corridor could've been filled up recently. The ladder made more sense. 

They turned to face the rest of the small room they were in. The room was mostly empty aside from a Tic Tic on a piece of the wall to their left that was molded like a lone stair without the other stone steps just enough for them to jump onto and boards that kept them from going through the corridor that led to a much larger room. They eyed the Tic Tic on it's endless journey around the lone step. Could infected bugs think? If so, what could it be thinking about? They had no real way to know for sure as they stared at the small white bug forever going in circles on the small step.

The larger bug admired it's persistence and wondered if it was even it's own. They finally took their eyes off of it and turned to face the three boards covering the corridor. They doubted their hands would be strong enough to break them and used their right hand to grab the handle of their nail on their back and brought it out of its restraints easily and used it to break the first board in half and the halves fell limp downwards on their respective sides, forever bound to tiny nails, slightly swinging. 

They repeated this for the other two boards until they could go through. They put their nail back inside it's straps that kept it in place on their back. They still didn't know what it was called. They didn't remember where it or the nail even came from but they've always had and used it just in case they needed it for as long as they could remember. The straps were connected to more straps that went around their shoulders over their cloak to keep the whole in place as well.

They walked through the corridor, hands at their sides underneath their cloak. This new room had more stairs that led to the top of the room and were spread out, a jumping distance each. There was a crawlid mindlessly walking towards them on the ground. They carefully stepped over it and jumped up onto the lowest stair. There didn't seem to be anymore corridors to go through on the ground. 

They then jumped the next stair, then the next, then the next, and then they were there on the highest stair. They jumped onto the ledge at the top of the room and saw a door to their right that was concealed by a wall. To their left was a large blue..cacoon? They walked to their right along the stone that led them to the large door. 

While walking past a rectangular shape on the wall to their left, something glowed from it. They paused before turning to it. The light was just random letters and symbols inside the rectangle before organizing itself into comprehensible words.

Higher beings, these words are for you alone.  
Beyond this point lay the kingdom of Hollownest, the last remaining kingdom known to date.  
Obey our queen and king and follow our laws or face harsh punishment.

The bug was confused. Didn't they hear about other kingdoms still standing? They turned to the door. There was no doorknob or anything to open it other than to bash it open with their nail so they did just that. They grabbed their nail and hit the door with it's blunt blade,

_Bang_

_Bang_

_Bang_

___until the door finally gave out. They walked over to the edge of the cliff. The small bug could feel the wind from the surface air that always reminded them of something but couldn't ever put their finger on yet always was comforting._ _ _

___They were here._ _ _

___That call was near there._ _ _

___They jumped down off the cliff they were standing on and eventually landed on their feet. They then walked over to a sign right next to a few houses that seemed to have been long boarded up. In the middle of the small town was an older bug next to a bench with a streetlamp looming above it. The sign they were next to read "Welcome to Dirtmouth"._ _ _

_Welcome to Hollownest, Hollow._


End file.
